Portable grand stand with permanent base



Dec. 11 1923. 1,477,242

D. L. CHRISTOPHER PORTABLE GRAND STAND WITH PERMANENT BASE Filed Nov. 2, 1922 DANIEL L CHRISTOPHER INVENTOR LB Patented Dec. 1l, 1923.

DANIEL L. CHRISTOPHER, OF URBANA ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TO LEAVITT MFG. GOM- PANY, OF URBANA, ELINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PORTABLE GRAND STAND WITH PERMANENT BASE.

Application filed November 2, 1922. Serial No. 598,477.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL L. CHRIS- TOPHER, a citizen of the United States, re-.

siding at Urbana, in the county of Champaign and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Grand Stands with Permanent Bases; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description 19 of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in grandstands of the portable type, or those which can be readily assembled and as readily dis-assembled, and has for its particular object the provision of such a grandstand which shalllo'e'provided -with-a permanent base upon which it.can be set up whenever needed.

One of the important objects of this invention is the construction of a portable grandstand-of the knock-down type, which shall be adapted to be positioned upon a permanent base of concrete blocks or the like, and which is capable of being interchangeably used upon one of any number of such bases.

Another object of the invention is the pro-- 0 vision of a grandstand of the knockdown type, which shall be of a very substantial construction, and so supported'as to form a structure of great strength and solidity when built up, but which shall be capable 5 of being completely dismounted and the component parts thereof packed into a comparatively small space for purposes of shipping, transfer and the like.

Still another important object of this inc vention consists in the adaptation of a grandstand capable of supporting quite a large number of people, and composed of a minimum number of parts consistent with great strength and solidity, said parts being 5 readily removable from each other, and the entire unit being readily removable from a permanent base, which base is especially designed to support the structure and its load safely and without any possibility of B warping or collapsing.

Other and further important objects of the invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and 3 following specification.

The inventlon in a preferred form, is

illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter w more fully described. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the improved grandstand of this invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Figure 3 is a detail view showing the manner of attaching the inclined stringers and l tion indicated by the arrows.

As shown in the drawings: The reference numerals 10 indicate per- .manently fixed blocks of concrete or the like which are preliminarily positioned in a'plot of ground 12 upon WhICll the grandstand is deslred to be erected. The size of the-blocks and the depth of same in the ground may be varied to meet requirements.

Solidly fixed into the upper face of each block 10, and preferably countersunk there in, is a plate 14 of iron or any suitable material. The plates 14 are securely fastened to the face of the blocks by anchor bolts 16 embedded in the concrete and having their ends bent as shown in Figure 4. The upper ends of the bolts pass through angle plates 18, the lower faces of which contact with the upper face of the plate 14, and the vertical faces of the same being adapted to contact on adjacent sides with the web of a vertically extending column 20. As will be seen, two angle plates 18 are mounted on each base plate 14, being maintained in contact relation therewith by means of the an;

chor bolts 16, .and the vertically extending portions of these angle plates 18 are spaced apart sufliciently so as to permit of the snug fitting of the web of the column 20 therebetween.

The web of the column 20 and the vertical portions of the angle plates 18'are provided with corresponding holes through which are passed removable bolts 22. By this means, the columns 20 may be readily detached from the blocks 10, and, if desired, the plates 14 and 18 may be also made removable from the blocks by screw-threading the up er projecting ends of the anchor bars 16 and fitting the same with removable nuts.

Removably attached to the upper ends of the columns 20 are horizontally extending channel irons 24. These .channel irons serve the double purpose of maintaining the ends of the columns in proper spaced relation, and also act to support the an ularly extending stringers 26, which are likewise in channel form, but may be I-beams like the columns or of any other convenient shape. The upper ends of the columns 20 have fixed thereto plates 28 in the form of angle irons, and the outwardly projecting ends of these plates are pierced with holes for the reception of bolts which likewise pass through corresponding holes in the ends of the horizontal channels 24. These bolts are likewise removable, and are designated by the reference numerals 30.

The stringers 26 rest upon and are supported by the horizontal channels 24 and are maintained in correct relation thereto and to the columns 20 by means of plates 32 bent into the form of an acute angle and fixed in the proper locations on the under side of the stringers 26 by means of bolts or'rivets 34. The downwardly extending portions of the plates32 are pierced for the reception of removable bolts 36 which likewise pass glarough openings in the 'Ibeams or columns As shown in Figure 1, the structure, when assembled, is further reinforced by bars 40 which extend diagonally from the bottom of one column to the top of the next adjacent column, and the rear of the. structure is similarly braced by cross-bars 42 which also extend between columns 20 positioned toward the forward end of the structure. These braces 40 and cross-bars 42 are removably attached to the columns by bolts or the like.

As best illustrated in Figure 1, the angularly extending stringers 26 are provided with seat supporting means 44 in the form of shaped bars or the like fixed thereto. Foot supports are provided by similar transversely extending planks hung in downwardly extending brackets 52 of metal or the like. The uppermost seat member is illustrated at 54 in Figures 1 and 2.

It will be seen that herein is provided a grandstand which shall be readily'assembled and disassembled within a very short space of time, and with the use of a very small number of bolts or other connecting means. Like parts are all interchangeable, so that there will be no possibility of confusion, and the provision of a permanent fixed base results in a structure which is particularly desirable. combining as it does the advantages of portability with a solidityof construction ordinarily found only. in fixed permanent structures. The concrete blocks 10 can be made flush with the ground, so that when the superstructure is taken away, the space is available for other uses without the slightest interference.

I am aware that many changes may be made. and numerous details of construction varied. without gleparting from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A grandstand including in combina tion, a portable superstructure comprising a plurality of vertical columns, a plurality of angularly extending stringers, angle plates and bolts removably attaching said columns to the stringers, a plurality of horizontally extendin supports, additional angle plates and b0 ts removably attaching the horizontal supports to the columns, and a permanently fixed base having said vertical columns removably attached thereto.

2. A grandstand comprising in combination, aportable superstructure, comprising a plurality of vertical I-beams, a plurality of angularly extending channeled stringers, angle plates and bolts removably attachedto the stringers and the tops of said I-beams and demountably connecting the same, a corresponding number of horizontal cha11- neled members removably attached to the vertical I-beams at angles to correspond with the angular relation of said stringers to the vertical I-beams, a plurality of angle plates and bolts constituting the means of said last named removable connections, and a plurality of permanently fixed base members adapted to support said super-structure when in assembled relation.

3. A grandstand including in combination, a portable superstructure, comprising a plurality of sets of vertical I-beams of successively increasing height in each set, a

plurality of angularly extending channeled stringers removably attached to the tops of said I-beams, a corresponding number of horizontal channeled members removably attached to the vertical I-beams at angles to correspond with the angular relation of said stringers to the vertica columns, a plurality of angle plates, and bolts removably attaching the same to the columns and constitut ing the means of said removable connections,

superstructure comprising a number of sets of vertical I-beams of successively increasing height, cross-braces removably connecting said "ertical I-beains, a plurality of angularly extending channeled stringers, angle plates removably attached to said stringers and to the tops of said vertical I-beams and demountably connecting the same, and a plurality of horizontally extending channeled members removably connect- 10 ing the tops of said I-beams.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

DANIEL L. CHRISTOPHER. 

